Re-righting History, a project funded by Cathay Pacific and created by Leo Hong Kong, has won the second Alan Page Award for writing.
The prize, established by the Cresta Awards to honor its late president, who was himself a multi-award winning copywriter and creative director, is dedicated to recognising, celebrating and advancing writing as a core skill for conceptual and executional excellence in communication.
In giving the prize to Leo and Cathay Pacific, Cresta says the judges were particularly conscious of ‘putting a marker down for the significance of language and writing as being at the core of developing big ideas and depth of content, ever more so in a world where new tech and new media are advancing rapidly’.
Re-Righting History is a project that was created for the 2024 Paralympics. Cathay Pacific, as the official airline partner for the China Hong Kong Paralympic Committee, wanted to strengthen its brand affinity with its home market. Working with Leo HK, it saw there was an issue with celebrating the great history of Hong Kong Paralympians – which was that the great history of their achievements had been neglected and barely recorded.
Christopher Lee, CCO at Leo HK, explains: ‘We wondered if we could right history by using AI to recreate never-before-seen medal-winning moments. By making people aware of how little attention they had paid to Hong Kong’s most successful Paralympians in the past, we ignited their desire to make up for this wrongdoing – right now.’
Lewis Blackwell, CEO of Cresta Awards, comments: ‘When Cresta set up this award, we knew we wanted to celebrate the power of language and writing, to honor Alan who loved what words could do. However, we could never envisage how rapidly we would find an award for great writing actually recognises how words are at the heart of creating what otherwise might seem to be a great example of AI creativity. AI can only do its magic through human vision in the prompts and in the shaping of an outcome that tells immensely powerful stories.’
Lee adds: ‘The team and I are deeply honored to receive this award, which is a testament to the power of storytelling born from genuine passion. This idea came from a pure place. It was inspired by a Paralympian’s video message, in which they wished Hong Kong would continue their passion even after the Olympics, so that Paralympians could feel the same support. As we interviewed more and more Paralympians, each conversation inspired us to write and create something that could capture their perseverance, while motivating the city to get behind our athletes.’
The result won gold at the 2025 Cresta Awards but has since been elevated to the unique honor of the Alan Page Award by a special jury, which includes members of the semi-permanent Cresta jury and the Page family.
Cresta Awards 2026 opens for entries on 2 February.
